Bed convertible seating furniture



Aug. 25, 1931. s TAFFEL BED CONVERTIBLE SEATING FURNITURE Filed Deo. 7.-192e satentecl Aug. 25, 1931 rszoisr PATENT -oFFicn SIGMUND TAFFEL, OFBROOKLYN, NEW YORK BED CONVERTIBLE SEATING FURNITTJ'RE` Application ledDecember 7, 1929. Serial No. 412,521.

This invention relates to folding beds and more particularly to acollapsible bed con struction incorporated in seating furniture, suchfor example, as in sofas or davenports for the parlor, living-room andthe like.

One object of the invention is to provide upholstered seating furnitureof improved construction which is readily convertible into a comfortablebed, the bed portion being normally concealed within the framework ofsaid furniture and forming a novel foldable structure which shall beeasily installed as a unit into 'the framework of the furniture n foroperation without interfering with, mar- Y improved construction havinga tension spring mattress support stretched on a foldable frame workforming a rigid structure when either folded closed or unfolded open.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bed convertibleseating furniture of the character described including a bed portioncomprised of few and simple parts assembled to form a. compact foldablestructure, which may be easily and quickly openn ed to provide a rigidlysupported comfortable bed, which shall require a minimum effort on thepart of the user in converting said furniture from a seat to a bed, andvice versa, and which shall be relatively unexpensive to manufacture,and practical and eflicient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in parthereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the constructionhereinafter described and of which thescope of application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of the variouspossible illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a side view of a convertible upholstered sofa constructed toembody the invention showing the bed portion in opened up position, aportion of the sofa frame and upholstery being broken away to expose thebed portion structure.

Fig. 'Q is an end elevational view of the improved bed portion shown infolded position under the sofa seat, frame parts being shown vin dot anddash lines.

Fig. 3 is top plan view corresponding to Fig. 1 partly shown brokenaway, and

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary views, as seen on lines 4-4 and A5---5 inFigs. 4 and 1, respectively.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 10 denotes a bed convertible sofaconstructed to embody the invention. Saidv sofa may comprise framemember corne-r uprights 11 terminating in legs 11a; for supporting thelsofa on the floor surface S, side stretchers 12, joining said uprights11,'.suitable upholstery including a back rest 13 applied over the framemembers in any well understood manner, a removable upholstered seat 14,and a bed portion, indicated generally at 15, adapted to be foldablymounted within the sofa frame members under the seat 14. The latterswings with movable parts of the bed portion 15 when said sofa is openedup to provide a bed in the manner hereinafter described.

The bed portion 15 is preferably made entirely of metal, as for exampleforming a steel collapsible structure which can be installed as a unitin the sofa framework and is seen to comprise an inner end section 15a,an outer end section 15b, and an intermediate section 150 hinged at 15dto each of said end sections. Said sections may also include acontinuous spring tension mattress support 16 of the flexible resilientstretched 'fabric type. These sections with the fabric spring permitsforming a compact collapsible structure which is relative by lightweight yet strong durable and adapted to withstand rough usage.

To mount the bed portion 15 within the sofa framework, angle member 17may be provided, which extend between the rear and front stretchers 12just above the legs 11a. Each membel .l has a suitable hanger portion 18adjacent the rear end thereof, and as here shown said portion isprovided with a slot 18a detachably engaging with a hook 19 which isfixedly secured to the side stretcher 12. The front end of each anglemember 17 may be upturned to provide a hanger portion 20, and a slot 20ain one side of the angle may be provided fordetachably engaging with ahook 21 secured in the front end of the side stretchers 12. The otherside of the angle of hanger portion adjacent the slot 20a may be drilledto receive wood screws 22 for fastening to the front stretcher 12 as isclearly shown in Fig. 1. A cross strap 22, may be provided to serve asan additional bracing for the hanger portion 20 with the memberj17 Forswingably mounting the inner end section 15a on the members 17 there isyprovided two sets or pairs of spaced links 24 and 25. The inner or rearpair of links 24 have one end of each pivoted at 26 to the section 15aoutwardly from the inner end thereof and are pivoted at 27 to themembers 17. Said links 24 extend down through slots 17a in members 17and beyond the latter, terminating in suitable attachments 24a for theends of the rear hanger portions 18 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The frontpair of links 25 have the lower end of each pivoted at 28 adjacent thehanger portions 20. The upper ends 25a of said links are extended beyondthe section 15a and may be pivoted to the latter at 29, said link ends25a serve as supports for pivoting, at 3Q, bracket arms 31 whichinterconnect `the link ends 25al with pivots 32, the latter beingpositioned midway between pivots 15d on intermediate section 15e.

The hanger portions 20 may terminate in stops 205 against which thelinks 25 abut for retaining the latter in upright position when elevatedon opening the bed portion 15.

One end of each suspension link 33 is also pivoted at 32, the other endof the link 33 being pivoted at 34 to an end of an angle inner brace 35secured by suitable means, such as screws 3G, to the seat 14 forsupporting an end the seat 14 when the bed portion is in open positionas shown in Figs. 1, 3, and4. Y

A pair of spaced hinged leg stanchions 3 may be provided for the bedportion 15, each stanchion being pivoted at 38 to an angle bracket 39carried by the brace 35 on the end opposite the pivot 34. The upper end37a of said stanchion extends beyond the section 15?), and may be hingedto it at 40. Said stanchion ends 37a serve as supports for pivoting at41 bracket arms 42 interconnecting the stanchion ends 37a with pivots 43provided on a mid portion on the intermediate section lc'adjacent thepivots 32.

For stiflening the bed portion 15 and for bracing the sections againstthe tension action of the spring mattress support 1G, the end of theouter section 15b is provided with a strut 44 which may be formed of apipe flatened at the ends and secured in position in any suitablemanner, as by means of rivets 45. Extending lengthwise the bed portionand connecting with the intermediate section 150, there is provided astrut 46 having off setting of the ends 46a of said strut 47 provides aclearance for the middle of the spring mattress support 16.

Upstanding from the outer end of the section 15b adjacent the ends ofthe strut 44, spaced bars 47 are secured. Said bars serve to retain thefolded sections in relatively fixed spaced position for rigidlysupporting the seat 14, on the portion 15 when the latter is closed, theends of the bars 47 being adapted to engage with the angle member 17 asis clearly shown in Fig. 2.

If desired, one or more foldable pillow rests may be provided, and ashere shown each rest may comprise a U-shaped member 48 having the ends49 thereof hinged to the bar 47, and other spaced upright support 50secured to the section 15b. A suitable spring 51 may be anchored to thesection 15d and connect-ed withthe U-shaped member 48 by means of thestrap 52 for holding the rest in an upright or collapsible position.

The movement of the parts of the bed portion 15 during the opening andclosing thereof will now be apparant. lVith the combination bed-sofa 10constructed and assembled as described above and shown in the drawingsthe parts when positioned with the bed portion 15 open as shown inFig. 1. may be closed by first swinging the head support down so thatthe U-shaped member` 48 lies against the Vbed spring support 1G. Thespring 51 assists in retaining the pillow support rest in its downfolded position. Next the seat 14 is raisedand the section 157 foldedover at the same time applying pressure for moving the bed portion 15toward the back rest 13. This will cause section 15a to swing down onthe links 24 and 25 to the position shown in Fig. 2 and the seat 14 willbe positioned rigidly supported in its proper relation with respect tothe back rest 13. The spring 60 prevents the sections from accidentallyfolding closed and serves to provide smooth and even opening and closingoperations.

To convert the sofa 10 to a bed, the seat 14 is drawn out of its normalposition on the folded bed portion 15 and swung from the position shownin Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2. Said seat carries with it thefoldable sections.

It should be noted that when the bed portion 15 is open the section 15a.is spaced from the back rest 13. In order to prevent any of the bedclothing or the person reclining on the bed portion from accidentallypassing into the space between the end of said section 15a and the backrest 13, a suitable guard rail 53 is provided. Said rail extends thelength of the bed and has its ends supported on the corner bars 54.

The bed portion l5 can obviously be constructed as an individual unit,and manufactured in iron working factory, independently of theupholstered sofa portion and the two portions may then be readilyassembled to provide the improved combination of the bed convertiblesofa embodying the invention.

It will thus be seen that there is provided devices in which the severalobjects of this invention are achieved and which are well adapted tomeet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth,it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

l. Bed convertible seating furniture comprising a frame having aremovable seat and a bed unit collapsibly mounted in said frame undersaid seat, said unit comprising foldable inner and outer end sectionseach pivotally connected to an intermediate section, a tension springmattress support connected to certain of said sections, an attachmentmember including sets of spaced swingable links securing one end sectionto said frame, Hoor supporting means comprising stanchions pivoteddirectly to the opposite end section and to said seat, bracket armspivotally connected to the upper ends of said stanchions and to saidintermediate section, bracket arms pivotally connected to the upper endsof said swingable links of o-ne set and to said intermediate section,links pivotally connected to said seat and to said intermediate sectionon a common pivot with said last mentioned bracket arms, and tensionsprings connected to said frame and to the lower ends of the swingablelinks of the other set toy retain said bed unit folded open and tofacilitatecollapsing thereof.

2. Bed convertible seating furniture comprising a frame having aremovable seat and a bed unit collapsibly mounted in said frame undersaid seat, said unit comprising foldable inner and outer end sectionseach pivotally connected to an intermediate section, a mattress supportconnected to certain of said sections, an attachment member includingsets of spaced swingable links securing one end section to said frame,floor supporting means comprising stanchions pivoted directly to theopposite end section and to said

